Virtual meetings to have ‘greatest impact’ on advice

The AdviceTech 2018 Report found that almost half of advisers (48.2 per cent) are already using online meeting tools to better engage with clients in a way that best suits the clients’ needs.

Additionally, 25.9 per cent of the surveyed advisers believe virtual meeting services will have the greatest impact on financial advice practices in the next five years, the report said.

“It stands to reason – time-poor but tech savvy clients creates a need for advisers to meet clients on their terms,” the report said.

“Connecting with regional clients or potential customers who may be unable to travel or leave their homes creates an opportunity for advisers to grow their business beyond their locale.”

The report added that the implementation of innovative communications technologies in other industries has also raised the expected standards for financial advice.

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“Your clients no longer compare you to other financial planning firms, banks or institutions; they compare you to the leading technology brands they interact with every day and demand the same level of personalised service, experience and engagement,” the report said.

“The challenge for advice practices is to decide which client communication and engagement tools will deliver the best outcomes and to trial, test and implement them immediately.”

The data uncovered by the report showed the percentage of advisers for whom technology was “pervasive in all customer engagement” grew from 11.17 per cent in 2017 to 14.10 per cent in 2018.

“Advisers do recognise the importance of customer experience technologies, with 62.62 per cent saying adopting AdviceTech has the greatest impact on client communication and engagement (the second highest response after improving business efficiency),” the report said.

“This is supported by 44.92 per cent of advisers believing client communications and engagement processes will be the area most impacted by AdviceTech in the next five years.”